Biometrics

Banks, technology developers and payment companies are all experimenting with new ways to identify consumers by their unique physical traits, with the ultimate goal of improving security while also streamlining customer onboarding and authentication.

In the ongoing quest to replace PINs and passwords, Mastercard has introduced a kit enabling consumers to register their own fingerprint on a biometric card at home, bypassing the need to visit a bank.

In seeking to solidify that potential, FIDO Alliance and the World Wide Web Consortium have created Web Authentication (WebAuthn), a new standard that allows approved FIDO Authentication methods to operate through browsers.

The speed at which money transfer payments are evolving from legacy, paper-based systems to digital platforms couldn’t be more stark at Western Union, where Sheri Rhodes has just been named executive vice president and chief technology officer.